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NAME
CLASS
SELECTION TEST
DATE
Student Edition page 185
Mrs. Flowers
SCORE
LITERARY RESPONSE AND ANALYSIS
from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou
COMPREHENSION (40 points; 4 points each)
On the line provided, write the letter of the best answer to each of the following items.
1. What is the setting of this story?
A A city in Arkansas
B Rural Arkansas
C Mrs. Flowers’s house in Arkansas
D A house, school, store, and church
2. What is the narrator’s mood at the beginning of the story?
F
Contented
G Angry
H Aimless
J
Energetic
3. The narrator says Mrs. Flowers is an aristocrat because —
A she doesn’t carry her own packages from the store
B she has pretty clothes
C her home is big and filled with pretty things
D she is in control of herself and doesn’t encourage familiarity
4. Why does Mrs. Flowers ask Marguerite to carry her packages?
She doesn’t want Bailey to come to her house.
G Marguerite is available, and Bailey is not.
H She has secretly already planned to take Marguerite home.
J
Momma offers to send Marguerite, and Mrs. Flowers accepts.
5. Why do you think Mrs. Flowers isn’t upset that Marguerite doesn’t talk to her?
A She is happy to be doing the talking herself.
B She knows from Momma that Marguerite is stubborn.
C She would prefer that Marguerite not speak.
D She knows about Marguerite’s shyness and doesn’t expect conversation.
6. Mrs. Flowers says and does several things that impress Marguerite. Which of the
following is not something that Marguerite learned that day?
F
That reading out loud can help her learn to sing
G That language separates human beings from animals
H That reading out loud can be so musical
J
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That the human voice infuses words with their meanings
Holt Assessment: Literature, Reading, and Vocabulary
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
F
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7. How does Marguerite respond when Mrs. Flowers says she had plans to invite
Marguerite for cookies and lemonade?
A She is pleased.
B She is surprised.
C She doesn’t say anything.
D She understands why she was asked to carry the groceries.
8. Mrs. Flowers’s plan for helping Marguerite with her problem is to —
F
get her used to reading
G get her used to speaking out loud
H teach her how to speak and dress nicely
J
teach her manners
9. How does Marguerite feel when Mrs. Flowers reads?
A Confused
B Enchanted
C Bored
D Upset that her brother isn’t there
10. What are Mrs. Flowers’s most important gifts to Marguerite?
F
Books and reading-aloud lessons
G Poetry and cookies
H Respect and life lessons
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
J
Sophistication and attention
LITERARY FOCUS (20 points; 5 points each)
On the line provided, write the letter of the best answer to each of the following items.
11. What is Mrs. Flowers’s motivation for paying attention to Marguerite?
A She wants all the children in Black Stamps to be literate.
B She is determined to improve Marguerite’s appearance.
C She wants to help out Marguerite’s grandmother, Momma.
D She wants to help Marguerite by giving her special attention.
12. What does the narrator reveal about her character when she says that saying “Yes,
ma’am” was the least she could do, but also the most she could do?
F
She is ignorant and only pretends to understand what Mrs. Flowers reads.
G She is desperately shy but can summon the courage to be polite.
H She has too much pride and refuses to be charmed by Mrs. Flowers.
J
Mrs. Flowers
She is arrogant and doesn’t like to be questioned.
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13. Overall, how does Mrs. Flowers affect Marguerite?
A She makes Marguerite nervous about borrowing her books.
B She makes Marguerite feel liked and respected.
C Marguerite is overwhelmed by her.
D She makes Marguerite want to become sophisticated.
14. Which two characters have the same motivation for their actions?
F
Marguerite and Mrs. Flowers
G Momma and Mrs. Flowers
H Mrs. Flowers and Momma
J
Marguerite and her brother
VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT (20 points; 4 points each)
On the line provided, write the letter of the word(s) that has about the same meaning as each
italicized word from the selection.
15. Mrs. Flowers’s voice seems to infuse the air with music.
A invade
B stifle
C fill
D ignite
16. The woman’s benign smile makes Marguerite feel welcome.
F
wide
H kind
J
beautiful
17. Illiteracy is not the same as intelligence.
A inability to read
B inability to read or write
C inexperience
D ignorance
18. Mrs. Flowers is intolerant of anyone who ruins her books.
F
unhappy with
G unwilling to put up with
H infuriated
J
54
forgiving
Holt Assessment: Literature, Reading, and Vocabulary
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
G huge
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19. Mrs. Flowers has taut, smooth skin.
A tightly stretched
B gleaming
C flawless
D dark
CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE (20 points)
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
20. Mrs. Flowers in this story and Harriet Tubman in “Harriet Tubman:
Conductor on the Underground Railroad” give advice and tell stories to
other characters. Write two paragraphs comparing and contrasting the
motivation each woman has, the kind of information that each gives to
other characters, and how those characters react. On a separate sheet of
paper, write two paragraphs that explain your answer. Support your ideas
with details from the stories.
Mrs. Flowers
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Page 233
Answer Key
Constructed Response
Constructed Response
20. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
response follows:
20. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
response follows:
Barbara Frietchie and Stonewall Jackson
are both loyal to their ideas and causes.
Frietchie believes in the Union and insists
on flying the Union flag. Jackson believes in
the Confederacy and has his men shoot at
her flag. They are both brave. Frietchie
bravely stands up to Jackson and his soldiers, just as Jackson has obviously done in
fighting the Union armies.
Jackson shows that he is respectful by
ordering his men not to harm Frietchie. He
is also described as being slightly shamed
by Frietchie’s words and bravery. We do
not learn much more about Frietchie’s character, except that the author implies that she
is a hero.
Too Soon a Woman
by Dorothy M. Johnson
Selection Test, page 47
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Comprehension
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
C
H
C
G
D
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Literary Focus
11. C
12. H
13. B
14. H
Vocabulary Development
15. d
16. a
17. e
18. b
19. c
Answer Key
F
A
Pa has three children and no wife. Even
though he says he can’t handle any more
people, he believes Mary when she says she
would “rather go with a family and look
after kids.” He realizes she is determined to
go west and perhaps decides that she
would be safer with his family than with
teamsters. Many people were moving west
at that time to homestead and find a better
life. Pa recognizes that they are both in
poor and difficult situations and can help
each other.
Union Pacific Railroad Poster
Home, Sweet Soddie
by Flo Ota De Lange
Selection Test, page 50
Comprehension
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
G
A
H
B
F
B
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
C
Mrs. Flowers
G
by Maya Angelou
Selection Test, page 52
J
C
F
A
H
Comprehension
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
B
H
D
H
D
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
F
C
G
B
H
Literary Focus
11. D
12. G
13. B
14. H
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Answer Key
Vocabulary Development
Comprehension
15. C
16. H
17. B
18. G
19. A
6. H
7. D
8. H
9. B
10. G
Constructed Response
Reading Skills and Strategies:
Constructed Response
Harriet Tubman’s motivation for telling
the runaways stories about successful
escapes is to give them courage. She also
tells them stories about the Middle Passage
to teach them about the history of the
African people. She sings to them to help
them feel calm. The runaways don’t seem
to be interested in her stories, perhaps
because they are too fearful about having
escaped the plantation and being hunted.
Mrs. Flowers is trying to draw Marguerite
out of her shell because she knows that
Marguerite has had terrible difficulties in her
childhood. Mrs. Flowers talks to Marguerite
about the difference between illiteracy and
ignorance and advises Marguerite to pay
attention to “mother wit,” or the sensible
advice that older people give based on their
experiences. Marguerite loves listening to
Mrs. Flowers read aloud from classical literature and listens carefully to everything Mrs.
Flowers says.
Collection 2 Summative Test,
page 56
Vocabulary Skills
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
ma’am
legacies
poked
dependent
apron
234
Making Inferences
11. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
response follows:
The grandmother and little girl are very
close. The grandmother wants to teach her
things and isn’t angry when the girl refuses
and pouts. The little girl is respectful when
she comes in from the playground, even
though she refuses to learn what her grandmother asks. The girl inwardly worries
about losing her grandmother and depends
on her.
Paraphrasing
12. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
response follows:
The little girl doesn’t want to learn how
to make rolls. In her eyes, it is something
that only her grandmother does. If she
learns how to do it, she won’t need her
grandmother as much as she does. The girl
will be connected with her grandmother
through her spirit when her grandmother
dies. The girl will intuitively know how to
make rolls, guided by her grandmother’s
spirit.
Summarizing
13. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
response follows:
B. This paragraph summarizes the poem best
because it is a short restatement of the character’s problems and the main events in the
poem. The first summary is too long and
tells everything that happened in the poem.
Holt Assessment: Literature, Reading, and Vocabulary
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
20. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
response follows: